Parents and students are occupying Lafayette Elementary school this afternoon in protest of the school’s closing. Today is the last day of classes at Lafayette and 27 other Chicago Public Schools slated for closure.
“Closing Lafayette will kill our neighborhood and our families,” said Rousemary Vega, a parent occupying the school. “We demand that this school stay open. We demand to keep our music programs, and our special ed program. We’re not leaving until this school is saved.”
Police were on the scene in attempts to quell the situation at the Humboldt Park neighborhood school, located at 2714 W. Augusta Blvd.
Check back with Progress Illinois for more on this developing story.
UPDATE 1 (5:02 p.m.): The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has come out in support of the actions taking place at Lafayette School today, according to a statement by CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey:
We stand in solidarity with the parents who are currently staging a sit-in at Lafayette Elementary School and are facing arrests by police. Lafayette is one of the schools that people were most bitter about. The parents, teachers and staff at that school really felt as though the decision to close it was an illegitimate one—in the service of students and the importance of that school to the neighborhood. But the Board jammed that decision through and people are determined to be heard. School closings hurt students and destabilize communities. The parents who are currently engaged in this non-violent protest are heroes and they are fighting in the best interest of their children.
Follow us on Twitter @ProgressIL as we live-tweet from the protest taking place at LaFayette School.
Photos from the twitter feeds #OccupyLafayette and #CPSclosings:
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